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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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OCD /xanax withdrawal/ Prozac
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Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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MedHelp Member's Question

OCD /xanax withdrawal/ Prozac

by toddbenny, Sep 16, 2005 12:00AM
I am 22 year old male. My entire life has been full of pleasure, ease, and fun. However, 6 months ago I had a high risk sexual experience that made me paranoid of Hiv. After I tested negative I thought all my fears would subside but since then the fear has become habit.

As a result my psychitrist says I have OCD, because I am constantly afriad that I will contract Hiv. My latest fear was that I could have gotten it from a pimple in my pubic region after havig prtotected sex. I fear that I'm living with the disease even though every high qualified doctor and test has proven that I don't.

Now I'm paranoid that I'm going to have a battle with xanax. I have been taking 1mg(at night a few hours before I go to bed) for the last 6 months. I would like to get off of it because I read about the horror stories and difficulty people have with it. I also read that it can add to ones anxiety.

Maybe i shouldn't get off if it untill my fears vanish? What do you think.

Additionally, my doctor just recently perscribed me Prozac. I'm hestitant because I have always live a lovely life untill now. Will the prozac trully help my OCD? Will it help me get off the xanax? Should 1 mg xanax be a worry for me?

My doctor reassured me that I'm in good hands and when the times comes he will wean me off the xanax. He believes that the prozac will enable me to have the right mental outlook in life, which will make getting off xanax easier.

Lasty, My psychitrist said he is simply there to help people medically. That is he diagnosis people with disorders, and them sends them to get psycho behavioral therapy. I find it odd that he would perscribe me these pills, and then send me to a psychologist. I'm having a follow up with him in a month.



Will 1 mg of xanax be something I should be afriad of getting off?

Will prozac alter my life and change the person I once was?

Will Prozac help my OCD problem? Worry of HIV, worry of addiction to xanax?

Will prozac cause any mental health issues and will that be easy to get off when i don't need it anymore

Doctor's Answer

by Roger Gould, M.D., Sep 17, 2005 12:00AM
Good questions...Prozac is relatively easy to get off,and your doctor seems to be right on all accounts.  1 mg of xanax is enough to cause some problems, so when you wean, wean slowly. Prozac should not change who you are, and if it does, you should stop it.  Think of it as a short term medication, rather than a lifetime medication.
Member Comments (11)

by toddbenny, Sep 16, 2005 12:00AM
To: Doctor
I forgot to tell you that I started taking the xanax 6 months ago to ease my fears of HIV. The fears are still there. The 1mg of xanax is used at night to ease my mind and help me get to sleep.

I have been using it as a crutch, and the only reason I don't want to get off of is, is because I fear that I will panic if I don't have it.

The prozac is also a concern for me. I have always been such a happy person. I worry that the prozac will alter my mind and brain chemicals.

Maybe the best bet is simply to talk to my new psycologist. What do you think? I have never had depression in the past, and maybe talking to a psychologist will help me the most. On the contrary, my psychiatrist thinks that prozac will really ease my OCD/fears. I have used xanax as a crutch and I don't want to rely on prozac pills my whole life.

What are your views of prozac and OCD especially for a person like myself, who has been blessed with 22 happy years????

I'm obvioulsy obssesing over this issue now. It was and still is HIV, but now i'm so concerned about the xanax because of the horror stories i have read.

Lastly, I have taken propranolol for speech anxiety. Lately I have been taking it during the day to attend class, because my overall levels of anxiety have increased especially when I am in a social setting. It helps reduce the sweating, shakes, and nervousness.

If I stopped with the xanax would the propranolol help with withdrawal symptoms? It really helps me when my heart races.

by toddbenny, Sep 19, 2005 12:00AM
To: doctor/everyone
I have decided to take my prozac. However, ever since yesterday, I have been having horrible cramps. Feels like sharp stabbing feeling in my lower stomach. Is this from the prozac or could it be ARS symptoms from hiv? My doctor told me to take it with food, and I have forgotten to take it with food on both accounts.

by toddbenny, Sep 19, 2005 12:00AM
once again I don't have hiv, but I constantly am paranoid that I could have gotten it in ways that are unrealistic. My OCD is somewhat out of control. I'm seeking therapy. I just wanted to know if my stomach cramps could be a result of the prozac. I started taking it yesterday.

by bootz, Sep 24, 2005 12:00AM
I am a nurse, but also have personal experience with the problem you are having. The first thing I thought was that maybe a sleeper would be more effective than xanax for sleep, and you could try using the xanax for the anxiety. Behavior modification also works well with controlling the obcessive thoughts. You could try to lower the dose of xanax to maybe half, if you were taking something to help with sleep. Sleep deprivation makes these symptoms worse! It's very important to anyone who suffers from mental disorders to get the appropriate rest. Your brain needs to rest just like your body. Prozac can be a wonder drug for some, but for others, it can exerbate their symptoms. There are so many newer drugs out there, that are more specific for OCD, and some of them can be taken at night and will work for both problems. Praying works great too. Good luck!

by Rutegaard, Oct 02, 2005 12:00AM
Do start cognitive-behavioral therapy! It has been shown to be helpful for OCD, and if you can manage without medications, you won't have to deal with unwanted, perhaps not yet known, side-effects in the near and far future.



I have suffered from OCD and later on more general anxiety and depression and am currently recovering from a tough bout with intense anxiety and depression, during which I lost the will to live and was hospitalized for the first time. This bout came about in immediate succession to me weaning off (during 5 months time) the 30 mg a day of paroxetine (a SSRI, like Prozac) I had been taking for almost four years. I started paroxetine due to being in really bad shape from OCD, anxiety and depression, but I don't think I ever was as bad before medicating as I became after weaning off. I weaned off the paroxetine due to having increasing problems with what to me has seemed like side-effects, including nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, pronounced fatigue and rhinitis (runny nose). Most of these side-effects receded parallel to me lowering my paroxetine intake. Before weaning off paroxetine, I had a battery of tests in order to as far as reasonably possible examine possible other causes of my problems, but the test results were all more or less perfectly normal.



Now, I'm on escitalopram, another SSRI, and have started experiencing much the same symptoms of nausea, dizziness, pronounced fatigue and rhinitis. I have recently started cognitive therapy, and I would like to sometime be able to live reasonably happily without medication. I would like to have tried cognitive-behavioral therapy for my problems in the first place, before even considering going on medication.

by mikerryg, Oct 06, 2005 12:00AM
I have been on Prozac in the past for OCD and panic attacks as well as a very similar situation to what you explained about fear of medical illness despite being healthy.  It worked wonders for me and I was able to think normally again.  I also had good effects with anafranil but had to come off because of a low blood pressure side effect.  It took about 4 weeks to feel the full effect of the prozac unlike the immediate relief of the xanax.  I had been taking klonipin for a series of time and was able to come off of ot very gradually and with no problem.  I would try to tell yourself that maybe the fears you are having about the medication are related to your anxiety disorder and will go away with the medication.  I would take the advice of your Doctor and try the prozac.  GOd Bless, Kerry

by Rutegaard, Oct 09, 2005 12:00AM
To: mikkeryg
Are you on Prozac now, Kerry? If not, how was coming off Prozac for you? Are you on any medication, SSRI, SNRI or similar in particular?



I don't mean to be intruding. I'm just curious and interested.

by shayna, Oct 14, 2005 12:00AM
Ok pull up a chair everyone because this is my story

I have been suffering from depression